Chapter 201: Vast Quantities of Treasures

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Translated by Frog in the Well

Read it only at Nineheavens.org
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The moment his hazy mind became clear.

Jin So-myeong, startled, checked his physical condition while scanning his surroundings at the same time.

‘I can move.’

He had entered the starlight, yet he could move freely. It meant that this was a dream, not a memory.

When he checked his dantian, his cultivation realm was also intact.

The 6th layer of the Nascent Soul stage, and Rank 4 high-grade body tempering. All of them were just as they had been.

As long as his body was normal, there was nothing in particular to fear.

Once he regained his composure and looked around, he saw a dense forest.

Among the lushly growing plants, there was one that stood out particularly; a tree had grown so high that it seemed to touch the sky.

The giant tree soaring so high that its top was invisible was the Divine Tree, the symbol of the Middle Province.

Looking at the scenery of the Sacred City, which had become familiar through numerous memories, he naturally realized it.

‘Is this… Hong Seol’s dream?’

Just as he was feeling a sense of welcome at the familiar scenery.

“Chase her!”

When he heightened his senses at the faintly heard shouting, urgent footsteps were heard along with rough, panting breaths.

Using his vast Divine Sense, he thoroughly searched the entire forest, and in an instant, he was able to pinpoint the location where the commotion was occurring.

“Where do you think you are fleeing! If you girl know the grace you received from the Sacred City, end your own life!”

“Ugh… No, I don’t want to!”

A girl covered in tears. A young Hong Seol, who looked to be at most fifteen years old, was running through the forest, covered in wounds.

Scraped by sharp branches, bright red scars appeared on her white skin, and she fled desperately, tripping over roots multiple times.

Was she completely possessed by the True Realm of Illusory Dreams?

Watching her run away like a helpless girl, with all the sharp intent she had accumulated as a Nascent Soul stage sword cultivator gone, Jin So-myeong let out a sigh.

He stepped forward while distorting space at the same time.

“Ah?”

As Jin So-myeong suddenly appeared and blocked her path, Hong Seol, startled, hurriedly stopped.

Her pupils trembled violently as she barely managed to regain her balance and avoid falling.

Did she consider Jin So-myeong an enemy as well? Flustered, she bit her lip and glared.

“We finally caught you.”

“What a truly persistent girl she is.”

The moment five cultivators surged out and surrounded the vicinity, hope completely vanished from her face.

*Clang!*

Did she intend to resist despite that? The sword, drawn out roughly, pointed in this direction.

He just calmly watched all of those actions.

In the brief moment when Hong Seol, who met eyes as tranquil as a calm lake, faltered.

The gazes of those surrounding the area also turned toward Jin So-myeong.

“Who are you?”

Someone asked in the brief silence, but he did not answer.

Because it was meaningless.

He just smiled slightly,

And reached out, holding the item he had stored in his subspace, a black scabbard without a single small decoration.

“Master. You left your scabbard behind.”

“…Scabbard?”

Long ago, when Jin So-myeong, who had just established his foundation, was being chased by the Thousand Corpses Sect, Hong Seol, who emerged from the Limitless Divine Sword, saved him.

The scabbard of the Limitless Divine Sword that she had left behind at that time. He returned it to her.

“You…”

Did she remember something? At the same time that the girl’s face blanked out,

*Thud!*

Those who surrounded the area split vertically and collapsed. Their breath of life was cut off by a slash swung at an invisible speed.

Hong Seol’s eyes, which had been staring at the amazing sight as if possessed, suddenly widened.

“Ah… Haha. Oh my. To think I would see you here.”

Shaking her head as if it were absurd, she smiled faintly and accepted the scabbard.

“It has been a long time, Jin So-myeong.”

“Have you been well?”

The girl, who had fallen several times and become covered in dirt, wore a bitter smile, and then she was enveloped in light.

In an instant, she transformed into a mature woman wearing clean white robes and let out a sigh.

“Seeing my current state, you sure speak such words easily. I showed you an embarrassing sight.”

“Hmm… Let’s get out first. As you already know, this is a dream.”

In the first place, it made no sense for a fifteen-year-old girl to run on two feet and escape from Nascent Soul stage cultivators. It was only possible because it was a dream.

“Not yet.”

“Pardon?”

He had intended to catch up later and leave the True Realm of Illusory Dreams first, but Hong Seol shook her head.

“Thank you for waking me up. However, I have not achieved my purpose yet.”

As he looked around in wonder, the silent forest remained the same. Even though Hong Seol, the owner of the dream, had regained her senses, it did not collapse.

“Did you perhaps stay behind on purpose?”

“Yes. So I would appreciate it if you didn’t say that this place is a dream.”

He did not know the exact method, but she seemed to have deliberately stayed in the dream without fully waking up.

Just as he was about to ask the reason.

“Found you!”

“Rebel Hong Seol!”

The bushes shook violently, and three Nascent Soul stage cultivators popped out and surrounded them.

‘…Where did they suddenly appear from?’

They had emerged out of nowhere in the space he had perfectly controlled with his Divine Sense.

Their cultivation realms were somewhat low to say they had approached with outstanding stealth abilities. They were only at the early and mid Nascent Soul stages respectively.

Was it a bizarre phenomenon that occurred because it was a dream?

Just as he was frowning.

Hong Seol, who was stroking the scabbard he gave her, spoke.

“I would like you to help me a little. If I handle them myself, it will become increasingly difficult for me to remain here.”

“…Understood.”

Hong Seol’s realm was the Nascent Soul Great Circle, and she could have easily defeated the cultivators who appeared now, yet she asked for help.

Although she did not explain in detail, he got a rough sense of the situation.

‘It seems that if she deals with them directly, she wakes up from the dream.’

One of the methods to wake up from a dream in the True Realm of Illusory Dreams was to cause an event that would normally never happen.

It was even better if it was something desired, even if only in a dream.

Didn’t Jin So-myeong wake up from his dream back when he dreamed of his tenant farming days and beat up the middle-aged man who brandished a whip?

The same went for Hong Seol.

To forcibly continue the nightmare of being chased by the cultivators of the Sacred City, she had to avoid touching them.

“Is it alright to kill them? Or should I suppress them instead?”

“As long as I don’t lay a hand on them myself, it doesn’t matter if they die.”

At the cold meaning contained in her calm tone, the Nascent Soul stage cultivators who surrounded them took a step back with flustered expressions.

“What on earth are you bastards talking about right now?”

Their wariness seemed to have risen sharply, but not a single person actually fled.

Seeing that, he thought a dream was indeed a dream.

If they judged him to be a powerhouse they could not deal with, the correct choice would be to scatter and flee as much as possible before calling for reinforcements. However, even if they died, they maintained the encirclement.

Just like puppets repeating only fixed actions.

The moment he gave a short shake of his head and tapped the hilt of his sword.

“…!”

Red dots appeared on the foreheads of the cultivators who were surrounding the area. They had their vital points pierced without even being able to react.

In the moment their foreheads were pierced and their divine souls collapsed.

The sharp intent that flowed through their meridians split even their Nascent Souls.

As he ended the situation with a single move, wonder settled in Hong Seol’s eyes.

“They are also those who went through harsh cultivation in the Sacred City in their own right, yet you deal with them so easily… The kid who was only at Foundation Establishment has truly become strong. I am proud of you.”

“…Proud of me? My age is already over a hundred years.”

“To reach that realm when you are only a hundred years old. That is even more surprising.”

Smiling gently, she spoke as if the timing was perfect.

“With your skills, there won’t be any danger in particular. Can you stand guard for me for a moment?”

“Stand guard? Are you perhaps planning to cultivate here?”

“Yes. In the first place, the reason I wandered in the True Realm of Illusory Dreams for twenty years was to find a dream set in the Sacred City.”

Although the True Realm of Illusory Dreams seemed peaceful at first glance, the hidden dangers were great.

At some point, without even realizing it, one could lose their sense of self and fall into an endlessly repeating nightmare.

He wondered if there was any reason to cultivate in such a dangerous place, but he could not help but be convinced by the words that followed.

“Among the Rank 5 spiritual veins I know of, this place is the safest.”

“Ah.”

Rank 5 spiritual vein.

With that single word, he realized what Hong Seol’s purpose in entering the True Realm of Illusory Dreams was.

‘She was planning to challenge the Soul Formation stage at the Rank 5 spiritual vein inside the dream.’

If that was the case, he actually wanted to ask to stand guard. Because watching a challenge to the Soul Formation stage would be helpful in one way or another.

However, there was something he was worried about.

“The Rank 5 spiritual vein must be inside the Sacred City, right?”

“That is correct.”

“Then isn’t even the Lord of the Divine Tree, a Soul Formation stage cultivator, inside this dream?”

“Fortunately, I already checked before I lost consciousness, and he was not there. Perhaps it is because this dream was depicted with the setting of when I was being chased by the Sacred City.”

Was it because the Heavenly Venerable did not chase Hong Seol back then, so he did not appear in this dream?

Anyway, it was fortunate that he was not there.

‘There won’t be any danger in particular. I just need to keep my senses so that I don’t get possessed by the dream.’

He nodded his head.

“Understood. I will protect you so that others cannot interfere.”

“Thank you. It will not be a loss for you either. The Rank 5 spiritual vein is sufficiently wide, so it will be helpful if you cultivate from time to time while standing guard.”

Following Hong Seol’s guidance, as he crossed the formation that distinguished the Sacred City from the outside, a fertile plain region appeared.

‘The spiritual Qi is incredibly abundant…’

The closer they got to the Divine Tree, which was called the symbol of the Middle Province, the denser the spiritual Qi became.

He could already feel just how good of a place to cultivate the land occupied by the Sacred City was.

As he was looking around, Hong Seol, who was staring intently in this direction, spoke with delight.

“Do you know how surprised I was when I heard news of you one day? To think you cut down a Nascent Soul stage cultivator with a Golden Core realm. It was hard to believe.”

“I was the one who was surprised. Because a mysterious expert popped out of the sword I bought at the auction. How did you end up dwelling in the Limitless Divine Sword?”

“At that time, I was recovering from my injuries while avoiding the pursuit of the Sacred City. Actually, teaching you Sword Qi was not my intention either.”

“Pardon?”

“It was that while I was asleep due to my severe injuries, you resonated with an extremely small amount of sharp intent that leaked out when I lost control.”

“Ah…”

“At first, I intended to ignore it, but since your talent for the sword did not seem bad, I taught you a bit more. Then, seeing you, who was only at the Qi Condensation stage, risk your life to fight against a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator, I decided to help.”

He had thought the sword that gave teachings back then was mysterious, but to think there was such an inner story.

Just as he was nodding his head and exchanging greetings.

“Hong Seol! How dare you return to the Sacred City!”

Nascent Soul stage cultivators appeared from somewhere and launched an assault. Although the endless onslaughts were annoying, dealing with them was not difficult.

Because running blindly head-on was just like puppets moving according to what was set.

“We have arrived. From here on, it is the Rank 5 spiritual vein.”

He realized it even before hearing Hong Seol’s words. It felt as if the entire world was filled with spiritual Qi.

It was to the extent that his spiritual power accumulated just by breathing without even circulating his cultivation method.

If a Rank 4 spiritual vein was a puddle of water filling up to his ankles, this place was an ocean. And that was right in the middle of an incredibly deep sea.

“Then I leave it to you. A result will probably come out in about a year, so please put in some effort until then.”

“I wish you good fortune.”

Hong Seol, who smiled faintly, entered the cultivation room right next to the Divine Tree.

Watching her activate the formation and enter secluded cultivation to challenge the Soul Formation stage, he sat cross-legged at a moderate distance.

He called about ten clones to guard the surroundings and was about to enjoy the Rank 5 spiritual vein, but then he paused.

‘Ah, right.’

The number of Nascent Soul stage cultivators he had dealt with on his way here was not just one or two.

Although this place was inside a dream, just in case, he did not miss a single storage pouch and took them all.

Using his Secret Realm of the Mind divine ability to absorb the storage pouches, his subspace widened by a very small amount. It meant that at least the things in this dream world were not complete illusions.

‘Huh. By the way, there really are a lot.’

Looking at the vast quantities of treasures added to his subspace, admiration poured out naturally.

Although it would all vanish in vain once he went outside the dream…

‘What would happen if I consumed them all?’

According to what he had confirmed in the past, cultivation was possible even inside a dream.

If he consumed medicinal pills and completely digested them, would that also disappear?

If he was curious, he just had to do it himself. There was no reason not to check.

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